Daniel Lienert-Brown: from 2015 injury call-up to Super Rugby champion and 100 games for Canterbury

At the start of 2015 Daniel Lienert-Brown had played two Super Rugby games off the bench and had no Super Rugby contract. Injuries brought a call from the Highlanders, and by July 2015 the Christchurch prop was on the bench for the final in which they won their first title. By the end of 2026 he had played 138 games for the Highlanders and, on 12 September 2026, his 100th for Canterbury. For 2027 he joins the Chiefs, where his younger brother, All Black Anton Lienert-Brown, is coming home from Japan.

Christchurch

Daniel Lienert-Brown was born in Christchurch on 9 February 1993 and grew up there with Anton, two years younger. Both went to Christchurch Boys' High School, and Daniel played in the First XV, according to Wikipedia. RUGBE could not find a published account of his junior rugby.

Canterbury was the team he grew up with. Before his 100th game for the province in September 2026, he recalled sitting in the stands as a boy, "watching and hoping one day you could be out there".

Age grade and a first taste of Super Rugby

In 2013 he played once for the Crusaders' development side and went to the IRB Junior World Championship in France with the New Zealand Under 20s. He was not in the original squad but was called in as an injury replacement for Alex Hodgman, and he made two appearances off the bench. New Zealand lost their semi-final 33-21 to England in Vannes on 18 June 2013 and finished fourth.

In 2014 he was with the Crusaders Knights development team and played his club rugby for High School Old Boys. Then, aged 21 and without a provincial game to his name, he was called into the Crusaders during a front-row injury crisis. He sat on the bench unused against the Hurricanes in Christchurch on 28 March 2014, and made his Super Rugby debut a week later, off the bench, as the Crusaders beat the Lions 28-7 in Johannesburg on 5 April 2014. He played twice for the Crusaders that season.

His Canterbury debut followed in the 2014 ITM Cup. He played four games, two as a starter, in a squad that included Nasi Manu in his last season for the province, Ryan Crotty and Johnny McNicholl. Canterbury lost their semi-final to Tasman in Nelson on 18 October 2014, 26-6.

2015: the call-up

None of the five New Zealand Super Rugby teams offered him a contract for 2015. Injuries opened the door again, this time in Dunedin, and the Highlanders called him in early in the season. He played 12 games for them, 11 of them off the bench, according to the statistics site Rugby History.

He came off the bench as they beat the Chiefs 24-14 in a qualifier in Dunedin on 20 June 2015, and again as they won their semi-final 35-17 against the Waratahs in Sydney on 27 June 2015. For the final against the Hurricanes in Wellington on 4 July 2015, coach Jamie Joseph named an unchanged starting side, with Lienert-Brown among the reserves. The Highlanders won 21-14, the club's first Super Rugby title. They had not played in a final since 1999.

Back home, he started six times for Canterbury in 2015 and scored his first provincial try in a 27-21 win over Auckland at Eden Park on 29 August 2015. Canterbury won the title, beating Auckland 25-23 in the final in Christchurch on 24 October 2015.

Twelve seasons in Dunedin

The Highlanders kept him. In 2016 he played 14 games, ten as a starter, and scored two tries as the side reached the semi-finals. He played 16 games in 2017, under new coach Tony Brown, and scored once, and 17 in 2018, the most of any of his seasons.

The provincial titles kept coming as well. With All Black Joe Moody away for the whole of the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup, Lienert-Brown played ten of Canterbury's 12 games, scored a try against Counties Manukau in Pukekohe on 15 October 2016 and Canterbury beat Tasman 43-27 in the final in Christchurch on 29 October 2016. Wikipedia counts it as Canterbury's eighth provincial title in nine years.

In 2020 he also turned out for Moana Pasifika, starting at loosehead in their match against the Māori All Blacks in Hamilton on 5 December 2020, which the Māori side won 28-21.

He scored twice more for the Highlanders in 2022, in a 26-16 loss to the Chiefs in Queenstown on 19 February 2022 and in a 32-25 loss to the Blues in Dunedin on 26 March 2022, and he played his 100th game for the club off the bench against the Rebels in Melbourne on 29 May 2022, a 31-30 defeat. He added another try in a 48-32 loss to the Brumbies in Canberra on 14 May 2023.

On 24 February 2024, in the opening round against Moana Pasifika in Dunedin, he packed down in a front row with Saula Ma'u and debutant hooker Henry Bell, and the Highlanders won 35-21. They reached the quarter-finals that season, losing 32-16 to the Brumbies in Canberra on 8 June 2024.

Rugby History counts 131 Highlanders games and six tries from 2015 to 2025. RugbyPass credits him with seven more in 2026, which takes his total to 138. Add the two for the Crusaders and he has played 140 Super Rugby games.

A century in red and black

His Canterbury career ran alongside all of it, and it produced seven tries: the two from 2015 and 2016, one against Bay of Plenty in Tauranga on 1 September 2018, one against Counties Manukau in Pukekohe on 13 September 2023, one against Auckland at Eden Park on 24 August 2024, and two in 2025.

The 2025 season gave him his favourite memory in the jersey. He scored in a 34-14 win over Taranaki in Christchurch on 5 October 2025, and again in the 43-19 semi-final win over Hawke's Bay in Christchurch on 18 October 2025. A week later, on 25 October 2025, he came off the bench in the final as Canterbury beat Otago 36-28 in Christchurch, the province's first title since 2017. Winning that championship "was awesome", he told Canterbury Rugby in 2026.

In 2026 he came off the bench on 9 August 2026 as Canterbury beat Otago 19-15 in Dunedin to win the Ranfurly Shield, which Northland took from them 11 days later. On 12 September 2026 he started against Wellington in Christchurch in his 100th NPC game for Canterbury, and Canterbury won 66-19. He was, Canterbury Rugby noted, in his 12th season with the province.

"I'm just grateful to be able to play. It's an absolute privilege," he said that week. "I'm trying not to make it about me because it's not." Canterbury went on to retain the title, beating Northland 43-24 in the final in Christchurch on 26 October 2026.

The brothers

Anton moved north to the Chiefs and became an All Black in 2016. He has played 94 Tests and 126 games for the Chiefs, and he returns to Hamilton for 2027 after a sabbatical season in Japan. Daniel spent 12 seasons with the Highlanders. In 2027 the brothers are in the same Super Rugby squad.

Style and standing

Daniel Cron, Canterbury's forwards coach in 2026, said he had wanted to coach Lienert-Brown for a long time, describing a player who "brings a lot of humour and excitement" and "likes to just get out there and sink his teeth in". Canterbury Rugby described him as a mentor to the province's younger props.

He has spent much of his career as a replacement: of his 131 Highlanders games to the end of 2025, Rugby History records 74 off the bench. He has never played a Test.

Where he is now

The Chiefs named Lienert-Brown in their 2027 squad on 28 October 2026, describing him as a Highlanders centurion who adds "substantial Super Rugby experience" to the prop group. He is one of six props, with George Dyer, Paula Latu, Tevita Mafileo, Ollie Norris and Jared Proffit. The 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season starts on 12 February 2027.

Career at a glance

Highlanders and Canterbury figures to 2025 from Rugby History; 2026 appearances from RugbyPass and all.rugby; Canterbury tries checked against Wikipedia's match records.